Hastings, Nebraska - Birthplace of Kool-Aid. Here's a 70's Kool Aid commercial for ya!

I didn't know that Kool-Aid was born in Hastings, Nebraska. You will even find the Kool Aid man's footprints there in cement and a Kool Aid museum. 

My first memories of Kool Aid are the commercials of the Kool Aid guy crashing through walls with a fruity red pitcher of Kool Aid at just the right moment when kids were miserably thirsty.

Kool-Aid gave boys and girls red moustaches at every party, and was responsible for the first experience in the business world for many children, with their own Kool-Aid stand. I remember we sold both lemondade and Kool Aid at our lemondade stands, depending on whatever we had at home. We probably tried Tang too. 

We lived on a suburban street in Germantown, Tennesse at the time (a suburb of Memphis) and I'm sure we brought no more than 25 cents into the house at the end of our sales days since our street probably had no more than a few cars drive down it per hour (at most!).

So, we'd mainly hang out there, dreaming of what we'd do with all the money we'd make, while shouting "Kool Aid!!!!" at the few cars that drove by. We'd eventually give up, and bring our TV tray, handmade paper signs, pitcher and cups back into the house. At least we'd get to keep the Kool-Aid. "Oh yeah!" as the Kool-Aid man would say.

Hastings, NE has an annual Kool Aid Days festival.

When planning your own retro travel around the U.S., plan to visit Hastings the second weekend in August. This will be your chance to stock up on every Kool-Aid collectable (or KOOLectible) you ever dreamed of.